Fatal Tide by Lis Wiehl, Pete Nelson

Fatal Tide (The East Salem Trilogy, #3)

by Lis Wiehl and Pete Nelson

In East Salem, the elite St. Adrian’s Academy is at the nexus of a satanic apocalypse—and the fatal tide is rising.

When Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights is reunited with the pagans who commissioned it, a dark prophecy begins to unfold in East Salem, beginning with a savage double-murder by hellish creatures straight out of the painting itself. The lone survivor of the attack, a seventeen-year-old Brit, finds sanctuary at Tommy Gunderson’s home—and the place is soon surrounded by demons who seem to be biding their time . . . but for how long?

Tommy’s pond has been contaminated with Provivilan—an insidious drug that could transform New York City’s children into an army of violence addicted murderers. But for an occult cabal in the upper echelons of Linz Pharmaceuticals, contaminating the water supply is just part of an ancient conspiracy against all of humankind.

As the clouds gather, Tommy and Dani realize they must infiltrate Linz and St. Adrian’s to stop the dissemination of Provivilan. Even then, it could take a tangible eruption of the battle between angels and demons to save humanity from the supernatural evils that have been summoned to East Salem.

Reviewed by kimbacaffeinate on

4 of 5 stars

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While the series has been more plot driven than character, the author has given us a colorful cast of heroes. Danni has spunk and is fearless and Tommy is unbending in his faith. Their romance continues to deepen and their faith in each other never waivers. Cassandra, Tommy’s ex really shows development in this third novel, and I was impressed with her involvement. A student from St. Adrian’s becomes an ally. I liked Reese, even if he wasn’t fully fleshed out. They draw others into their inner circle to help as well; a police officer and an FBI agent. All of these characters help move the plot and add to the ominous tone. A biker, and an Indian (two angels) are present again and help even the odds. Quinn has a pivotal role in this tale, and I was quite taken with this silent soul.

Fatal Tide and the East Salem Trilogy is one of good vs. evil, of faith and the power to overcome. Wiehl did an excellent job of building the suspense as we progressed in this trilogy. She kept me on edge and had me piecing together the clues along with the rest of the team. While religion is at the forefront of this series, it is never preachy and open to all forms of religion from Hindu to Catholic. In the context of this trilogy, religion was a key factor and added to the overall intensity. St. Adrian’s school was creep-tastic, as were the tech toys Tommy surrounded the team with. The whole time I was reading I could hear the sound track to Ave Satani. While the tale takes place in East Salem and slowly builds to the day of the planned attack, we also travel abroad as we move to thwart them..It was intense. Wiehl gradually increased the attacks and intensity as we counted down, and the climatic ending was riveting. While a few little things bothered me, some unnecessary threads, and questions left unanswered I was pleased when I closed the book and quite enjoyed the ride.

Copy received in exchange for unbiased review and​ full review​ originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 20 November, 2013: Finished reading
  • 20 November, 2013: Reviewed